...the downside is that these types of methods are slow and singular especially when you consider how much potable water a person needs per day. [which makes no difference, IMHO, for an emergency water treatment system to put in your BOB] Also the fear of human cross contamination is a big factor [I would never kiss my wife if cross contamination were a major concern of mine] as these straws are probably not stored nor sanitized and probably used by more then one person despite precautions. My SO also mentioned the cost of the straws. Even if they were $7-$10 per, there are not many aid agencies that could afford to equip hundreds or thousands of people with these straws as other mass water purification methods are much cheaper and more efficient on a large scale. [but I can afford $7-$10, even the $20 that they are asking - I'm looking to equip my BOB, not the entire continent of Africa]

My take on the straws for what we would use them for is the real lack of advance use. Meaning that although you can safely drink through the straw as needed. it does you no good if you need to travel with water stored in bottles. [that's what MicroPur is for - drop a tablet in the bottle and purify as you go, or, fill your bottles with unpurified water for carry and use the LifeStraw to drink from your bottles] Whereas other treatment methods allow you to treat water as needed and also that treated water then can be stored in bottles and taken with you and used where there may be no other replenishable water.